Bibi to Morsi: Keep Peace Treaty Alive

In a personal letter, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Mohammed Morsi, who was sworn in Saturday as Egypt’s president, to honor his country’s contractual obligations to Israel.

A senior Israeli official said that in the letter Netanyahu congratulated Morsi on his election, offered to cooperate with the new government in Cairo and expressed his hope that both parties would observe the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty. He emphasized that honoring the agreement is in the interest of both countries as it plays a decisive role in maintaining stability and security in the region. Netanyahu also wished Morsi personally, as well as the Egyptian people, luck in their new future and their journey toward democracy.

According to the official, after consulting with Washington, senior officials in Jerusalem decided to hold off on arranging a telephone tete-a-tete between Netanyahu and Morsi, at least for now. The written missive was delivered to Morsi through the Israeli Embassy in Cairo.

In addition to dispatching the letter, Netanyahu also sent Isaac Molho, his special envoy to the peace process with the Palestinians, to the Egyptian capital. Molho met with the head of Egyptian Military Intelligence, Murad Mowafy, and other high-ranking security officials, but it is not certain that he met with aides to Morsi.